Walking up to strangers and asking if I can take their picture is apparently part of my life now. And yes, I absolutely had to give myself a little pep talk first.
Back in Vermont, I had an established part-time photography business. I had familiar faces in front of my camera, people who recommended me to their friends, and a community where people knew me and my work.
Moving to Southwest Florida meant starting that part over. I brought my experience, my camera, and a whole lot of excitement. But the connections? The familiarity? The people who could say, “Oh, you should call Chelsea!” Those take time to build.
Marketing a business somewhere you know very few people is hard. You’re introducing yourself over and over, hoping something connects. And when your work is as personal as photography, there’s a lot of you wrapped up in putting yourself out there.
So this past weekend, I tried something that made me a little nervous: I walked up to couples I had never met and asked if they would let me photograph them. A simple enough question. Somehow much harder to say out loud when you’re standing there holding your camera.
They were out enjoying their time together, and I was a stranger asking to borrow a few minutes of it. They had no experience working with me, no mutual friend making an introduction, no reason to already feel comfortable.
And still, people said yes - That part has stayed with me.
Photographing people in love has always been my favorite. There’s so much to notice: the way someone looks at their person, the little touches that happen without thinking, the laugh that comes when one of them whispers something I don’t get to hear.
But there was something especially sweet about seeing those things between people I had only just met. I didn’t know their whole story. Whether they had been together forever, were somewhere in the middle of building a life, or were still in that beginning, "do we even like each other" stage, I was meeting them in this one small moment.
And in front of my camera, they were smiling. Laughing. Enjoying each other. It felt a little surreal to be invited into that. People who didn’t know me were letting me see this little piece of their relationship. They followed my lead, tried my prompts (some hesitated, rightfully so! They did not sign up for this), but still trusted that the woman who had just approached them with a camera could make something they would want to keep.
That trust meant so much to me.
I spend plenty of time thinking about the practical parts of rebuilding my business: my website, how people will find me, what to post, how to introduce myself. But standing there photographing these couples, I got to settle into the part I love most.
Paying attention. Making people comfortable. Catching a look or a laugh before it passes.
I’m so glad I pushed through those first few awkward seconds of introducing myself. They led to conversations and photographs I wouldn’t have had otherwise—and reminded me how much I enjoy meeting the people on the other side of my camera.
To the couples who let a stranger interrupt their evening for a few photos: thank you! Thank you for being open to it, for following my slightly ridiculous directions, and for letting me photograph you being yourselves together.
You gave me a very sweet welcome to this new chapter.
So, I guess if you see me out around Southwest Florida with my camera, working up the courage to say hello… now you know what’s going on.
